Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Generic drugs saved U.S. $1T over 10 years, industry study finds

Generic drug makers released a study Thursday that found generic pharmaceuticals have saved the U.S. -- through private prescriptions as well as Medicare and Medicaid -- more than $1 trillion over 10 years.

3 Aug 2012

Longer looks: Mississippi learns from Iran's health care system

Sabrina Seeling seemed too young to die. ... One night she stayed up all night translating a Latin text into English for a college paper. ... During the all-nighter, Ms. Seelig took Ephedra, a stimulant diet drug that had been banned by the Food and Drug Administration three years earlier, and had a few beers. ... When she felt sick, she called Poison Control for help, and spoke very clearly, a recording of the call shows.

3 Aug 2012

Goals of curtailing sales of tobacco to underage youth continue to be met

A new report on the Synar Amendment program - a federal and state partnership aimed at ending illegal tobacco sales to minors—shows that all the states and the District of Columbia have continued to meet their goals of curtailing sales of tobacco to underage youth (those under 18). The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which sponsors the Synar program, shows that the average national retailer violation rate of tobacco sales is down to 8.5 percent, the lowest level in the history of the program.

3 Aug 2012

Depression in kidney cancer patients associated with survival and inflammatory gene regulation

Research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has found that symptoms of depression in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic kidney cancer are associated with survival and inflammatory gene regulation may explain this link.

3 Aug 2012

Mild mental health problems increase risk for death

Even mild psychologic distress increases the risk for death, the results of a large meta-analysis show, raising questions about the treatment of subclinical depression and anxiety.

3 Aug 2012

Child abuse has repercussions for menarche

Researchers have found an association between childhood abuse and age at menarche onset, they report in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

3 Aug 2012

Alcoholics are often going undiagnosed

Medical staff often do not spot alcohol problems in their patients unless they are already intoxicated, say UK researchers from the University of Leicester.

3 Aug 2012

Self-recognition deficits in schizophrenia confirmed

Patients with schizophrenia exhibit impairments in self-recognition, results from a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies confirm.

3 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Orszag on CAP cost-control proposals; High-tech and health costs

The Center for American Progress proposals thus wisely recognize that there is no single strategy to continue the recent progress in slowing the growth in health-care costs. In contrast, the Republican budget plan put forward by Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin seems based on a belief that all that's needed is to shift risks: from Medicare to beneficiaries through a premium-support program, and from the federal government to state governments by turning Medicaid into block grants.

3 Aug 2012

Researchers develop robotic companion and intelligent home environment for elderly people

A team of EU-funded researchers has developed a robotic companion and intelligent home environment that could help elderly people live richer and more independent lives and reduce the burden placed on healthcare services.

3 Aug 2012

Weill Cornell Medical College receives NCATS grant to fund Clinical and Translational Science Center

Weill Cornell Medical College has received $49.6 million from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to fund its Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC).

3 Aug 2012

Caffeine may ease movement symptoms of Parkinson's

While drinking caffeine each day does not appear to help improve sleepiness among people with Parkinson's disease, it may have a benefit in controlling movement, according to new research published in the August 1, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3 Aug 2012

Researchers develop improved expert system for diagnosis of thyroid disease

Researchers in India have developed an improved expert system for the diagnosis of thyroid disease.

3 Aug 2012

Study analyzes drop-out rates and predictors of attrition within adult weight management program

More than 1.7 billion people worldwide may be classified as overweight and need appropriate medical or surgical treatment with the goal of sustainable weight loss. But for weight management programs to be effective, patients must complete them, states a study published in the Canadian Journal of Surgery (CJS) that analyzed drop-out rates and predictors of attrition within a publicly-funded adult weight management program.

2 Aug 2012

IHME study identifies discrepancies between national surveys that track obesity

Despite the increasing awareness of the problem of obesity in the United States, most Americans don't know whether they are gaining or losing weight, according to new research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

2 Aug 2012

BMC to implement and evaluate opioid risk reduction model in primary care settings

Researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) have received a $2.67 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to implement and evaluate a new model of care in primary care settings aimed at decreasing the misuse of and addiction to opioids among patients with chronic pain.

2 Aug 2012

PTSD prevalent in serious mental illness patients

Post-traumatic stress disorder is common among patients with serious mental illnesses, and is associated with an increased risk for suicide attempts, Spanish researchers report.

2 Aug 2012

OCS common in patients at high risk for psychosis

Obsessive–compulsive symptoms are common in patients at high risk for psychosis and are associated with an increased risk for suicidal ideation, US study results show.

2 Aug 2012

Increased cortical thinning in schizophrenia patients

Patients with schizophrenia show greater cortical thinning in selected subregions of both the frontal and temporal lobes over a 2-year period than mentally healthy individuals, study results show.

2 Aug 2012

Study looks at hope experience of male spouses of breast cancer patients

Male partners of breast cancer patients are likely to take a pass on spousal support groups in favour of exercise or an evening out with friends to cope with stresses associated with the disease, according to new research from the University of Alberta.

2 Aug 2012